News Releases

Fairfax County School Board to Pursue Property to Alleviate Overcrowding in Seven Corners Area

The Fairfax County School Board is examining the viability of acquiring a five-story office building in the Seven Corners area of Fairfax County to be converted to a vertical design school. This facility would provide relief for the severely overcrowded Bailey’s Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences that is currently at 130 percent capacity with more than 1,300 students housed within the building and in 19 on-site trailers.

The building, which has been vacant for a year, is a foreclosed property owned by a Maryland limited liability company. It is located at 6245 Leesburg Pike. FCPS has been negotiating in good faith over the past two months, however, to date the owners have been unresponsive.

Consequently, the Fairfax County School Board has approved the use of a statutory authority to gain access to the vacant building to closely inspect and determine whether the building could be converted for use as a vertical design school. A thorough internal inspection of the building is necessary to determine whether this building would allow for the design of a fully functioning elementary school.

“We are facing a crisis at Bailey’s Elementary School, which is only going to get worse as more students enroll,” said School Board Chair Ilryong Moon. “Currently the school has trailers on nearly every available outdoor space. The school library was removed this summer in order to make room for the more than 1,300 students who are attending this year. We have already removed the SACC program and pre-kindergarten classes from Bailey’s. We have a responsibility to the children and this community, so we must do something to alleviate the overcrowding.”

The school district has been searching for a solution to overcrowding at the school for the past two years; the effort has been limited by the lack of available land in the Bailey’s Crossroads area of Fairfax County.

Once options are determined, including the possibility of the use of this building, public input will be gathered.

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Note: For more information, contact the FCPS Department of Communications and Community Outreach at 571-423-1200.